The U.S. Department of Energy is considering a stand-alone contract for management of its Savannah River National Laboratory in South Carolina.
The DOE Office of Environmental Management on Wednesday issued a request for information/sources sought notice for management and operations of the government lab, which currently operates under the full Savannah River Site (SRS) contract.
The management and operations contract at SRS, held by Fluor-led Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, is administered by the Office of Environmental Management. “As EM focuses on completing its cleanup mission, DOE is seeking to position SRNL for an enduring mission” based around scientific research, according to the RFI.
The lab does work in areas ranging from basic science to applied research to support DOE cleanup as well as nuclear nonproliferation and weapons research. It serves the Office of Environmental Management, the semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), and other DOE offices.
Its defense nonproliferation work for NNSA includes developing new technology for detecting nuclear and radioactive material. Its defense cleanup research encompasses advancing grouting and vitrification technology for nuclear waste.
The Energy Department intends to issue a request for proposals for operating the lab under a “discrete” M&O contract, the RFI says. A stand-along contract should enhance SRNL’s ability to pursue more diversified R&D projects, without endangering its current work, according to the RFI.
The RFI does not ensure there will be a request for proposals, the Energy Department said.
In the RFI, the Energy Department asked stakeholders to discuss ways to strength the laboratory’s research mission and also improve its ties with academia.
Savannah River National Laboratory, which employs 1,000 people on an annual budget of about $200 million, is designated as the only national laboratory for the DOE Office of Environmental Management.
In addition to running the lab and conducting research, a contractor would be expected to provide technical advice and guidance to DOE in support of policy development, program planning, and other activities.
This should have been done a long time ago, one industry source said Thursday, adding the move will “enable the lab to be more of a lab.”
A second industry source agreed, saying the RFI might indicate making SRNL more of a DOE Office of Science lab situated on an EM/NNSA complex. The notice seems focused on finding an academic partner for the laboratory, he said, such as Texas A&M and the University of California at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.
The sources did not necessarily think giving SRNL a contract separate from Savannah River Nuclear Solutions has any bearing for ongoing discussions on the future roles at the site of the NNSA and the Office of Environmental Management.
Responses to the RFI are due by 3 p.m. ET on Jan. 22. In addition, DOE plans to hold an industry day with laboratory site tours on Jan.16. The industry day and community day events will occur at the Crowne Plaza North Augusta, 1060 Center St. in North Augusta, S.C.
A preliminary statement of work is attached to the document says the contractor will handle all “technical, operational, and management functions” at SRNL and perform missions assigned by DOE. The RFI contains the usual disclaimer that this is not a request for proposals and there is no guarantee the Energy Department will issue one.
A third industry source, however, said he has heard an SRNL RFP could come out in mid-2020
Interested parties may submit questions to: [email protected].
The Energy Department has created a procurement website that can be found here.
The incumbent vendor has managed the Savannah River Site since August 2008 under a $14.9 billion contract that has been extended several times and is currently set to run through September 2020. Additional extensions could keep SRNS on the job through September 2022.
Another vendor, AECOM-led Savannah River Remediation, oversees treatment, storage, and eventual disposal of the SRS liquid waste under a $6 billion contract dating to July 2009. Savannah River Remediation is working under a contract extension that keeps it on the job through September 2020.
A joint panel between the NNSA and the Environmental Management office, studying the respective roles for each entity at SRS, was initially supposed to issue a report by the end of 2019.
The Energy Department “is continuing to evaluate potential options related to overall stewardship of Savannah River” between NNSA and the nuclear cleanup office, said a DOE spokesperson by email. “No decisions have been made at this time.”
